Human+ingenuity 07 report

50 Excellent Personal Projects
Poetry Collection of Tokyo

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2009


A Table of Contents
Introduction
Identification of Goal……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3
Description of the Chosen Areas of Interaction……………………………………………………………………………….3
Outline of How I Intend to Achieve the Goal…………………………………………………………………………………..4
Description of the Process
Production Steps……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...4
Components of My Project……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
Analysis of Process and Product
Inspiration…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………7
Research…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….8
Influences………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9
Findings/Decisions……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………9
The Product, Process and Goal………………………………………………………………………………………………….……11
Focus on Homo Faber and Environment……………………………………………………………………………………….11
Conclusion
Reflection of Impact of My Project…………………………………………………………………………………………………11
New Perspectives to Consider……………………………………………………..……………………………………………………..11
Bibliography…………………………………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………….12
Appendices
Survey about Tokyo…………………………..…………………………………………………………..…………………………………..15
Survey about My Poem Collection……………………………………………………………………………………………………..17
Diagram 1……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………21
Process Journal…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..22

Photo of front page URL: http://flickr.com/photos/28481088@N00/1808267994/sizes/o/

2



Introduction
Identification of Goal
For my Personal Project, the goal is to see whether poetry will be able to deepen people’s understanding
about a certain topic. In answering this query, I will write poems about Tokyo and make it into one
anthology along with some poems written by other poets. The forms which I will be using in my poems will
be from a wide range of styles, and will be chosen as I work through the project. By reading and analyzing
various poems written by professional poets, I aim to learn effective writing skills and techniques, and use
them to communicate my impression and interpretation of the characteristics of Tokyo city.

Later on, I will ask foreign‐nationals who have never been to Japan whether they have acquired a deeper
understanding of Tokyo after reading the collection. If the majority of the readers believe that they have
somewhat gained knowledge, then I would know that my collection was successful and my goal would be
achieved, knowing poetry can in fact deepen people’s understanding.

Description of the Chosen Areas of Interaction
This project will interact with two Areas of Interaction: Homo Faber and Environment.
Firstly, it interacts with Homo Faber for two reasons. The first reason is because as I acquire more knowledge
about poetry throughout this project, sophisticated analytical skills will be needed to understand and study
each poem I read, in order to learn new writing techniques and determine whether it is appropriate to put
into my collection. After acquiring the writing techniques, vivid imagination and creativity will be used in
order to portray my interpretation of Tokyo to the reader. Hence, because the same skills are encouraged by
Homo Faber, my poetry collection interacts with it intensively. The second reason is because of the impacts
this product can cause on the readers. Even though, this poetry collection is written to share my perspective
of Tokyo, it can inspire some readers to gain interest in English literature as well as Japanese culture. This
influence is also an aspect of Homo Faber since I am causing changes to the stereotypical impressions
foreigners have on Tokyo, such as misunderstanding that kimonos are worn on a daily basis.

Secondly, this project interacts with Environment since the purpose of my poetry collection is to help
foreigners develop awareness and receive firsthand account on an environment which in this case, is Tokyo.
Even though my poetry collection is not about environmental issues such as pollution and global warming,
it has as much significance as those topics since environment is the main theme in my anthology. Hence, I
would have to investigate, plan, draft, create and evaluate everything accordingly so that I can portray my
interpretation of one particular environment‐ Tokyo. Another reason for why my project interacts with this
area is because researching and using different forms of poetry from various time periods and environment
can allow me and the reader to know more about the language during those times.

3



Outline of How I Intend to Achieve the Goal
I intend to achieve the goal which is to find out whether people can gain understanding from poetic
literature, by providing poems about Tokyo. In writing poetry, I must research about the forms of poems,
understand each form, and select appropriate forms to write. After this, I will brainstorm some topics that I
can discuss about after asking foreign teachers at K. International School Tokyo about amusing features of
Tokyo. Then, I will choose how many poems I will write and assign one topic/theme for each one. I will write
my poems, and later on, research other poets’ poems about Tokyo. Lastly, I will compile the two parts (my
poems and other poets’ poems) and make it visually appealing so it would become an anthology. I will ask
foreigners who are not in Japan to take a survey after reading the poems to see whether poetry (literature)
can help people further their understanding about a city. If so, then my anthology should be considered as
successful, and my goal would be achieved.

Description of the Process
Production Steps
In creating the final product, there were two steps: a) writing my own poems and b) finding poems written
by other poets. I began by writing my own poems since I assumed that this process would be more time
consuming than the other. The amount of effort, creativity, skills, and the extensive research required to
write my poems made this process extremely challenging.

In writing my own poems, there were several developmental stages. They were: investigation, plan, draft,
create and evaluate. I began my investigation by researching different forms of poetry. Without proper
understanding of the forms, I will not be able to portray what I want to so I spent the first five days
investigating. After doing so, I tried to determine which form to use. Since it was unrealistic to try and write
every form available, I decided to limit the number of forms to five. Reading Studying Poetry (See
bibliography), I came to understand that there are eight common forms used in English literature: Sonnets,
Haikus, Ballads, Cinquain poems, Heroic couplets, Limericks, Villanelles, and Odes. From further research,
I found out that some were similar to each other (See Process Journal), which led me to cut down to five
forms: Ballads, Cinquain poems, Haikus, Sonnets, and Limericks.

Next, I began my Plan stage. I determined the features of Tokyo which I will portray in my poems. In order
to figure out the most significant themes to focus on, I decided to survey the foreign teachers at our school
to learn what they find or found unique about Tokyo. Their responses gave me an objective perspective on
Tokyo which enabled me to consider many new themes such as the asphalt streets and salary‐men on trains.
(See Process Journal). After reading each survey, I listed themes which I found appropriate for my poems.
They included: trains, skyscrapers, crowdedness, temples/shrines, seasonal qualities and the fusion between
new and old. Then, I assigned a theme for each form of poetry as shown in the chart below.

4



Chart 1.0:
Form of Poetry Theme
Haiku 1 Evening, when the sun sets.
Haiku 2 Night, when the lights on buildings turn on & off
Sonnet General image of the city
Cinquain Fusion between new & old
Limerick Train/the metro
Ballad Social aspect of Tokyo

After deciding the themes, I commenced my draft stage where I began writing my poems, exploring the
various techniques. (See Analysis) Finally, I proofread them by checking whether the numbers of syllables
were appropriate to the style and made changes so that it would flow.

Next, in the second process I searched for poems written by other poets about Tokyo (or Japan) translated
into English. Although I encountered difficulties, I eventually found a few (See Analysis, Process Journal and
Bibliography).

Lastly, I compiled all of the above poems into one collection by using Microsoft Office Word 2007. I decided
to insert a photograph into the front page to foreshadow the theme to the reader. It beautifully demonstrates
the fusion between old and new, which I repetitively focus on throughout my anthology (See Shall I
Compare Thee to a Human Being? and Confusion of my collection)

I sent the anthology along with a survey to four foreign friends I have around the globe who have never
visited Japan. Their response told me whether my collection increased their knowledge or not. (See Product,
Process and Goal)

Components of My Project
The components in doing my project include the research, cultural awareness and the assessment of goal.
1. Research: The research for writing my own poems was more intense since at the beginning of doing this
project, I did not know what to write about Tokyo. In order to gather ideas for what I should discuss in
my poems, I decided to survey foreign teachers at K. International School Tokyo, about the
characteristics of Tokyo that they found interesting or unique. The results provided me ideas that were
objective and helped me recognize things that I did not before due to no novelty. For example, if I had
not done a survey, then I would not have thought of including a description about alcohol (sake) into
the poems. According to some teachers, drunken people or alcohol intake were prominent in Tokyo than
cities in other countries. I recognized that this was one of a cultural activity since many people in Tokyo
like to celebrate events and social activities by drinking sake. I included this cultural aspect of Tokyo

5



✓Do the rhythm and meter integrate with the poem's structure?
✓Are my rhymes fresh, unassuming but supportive?
✓Is my overall impression original, honest, expressive and significant?
(LitLangs Ltda., 2008)
This checklist was very helpful when evaluating and editing my poems.
Other than my poems, I used publications of famous Japanese poets: Matsuo Basho and Miyazawa Kenji.
The questions which I asked myself after deciding which poems to include into my anthology are:
✓ Did I include poems which have seasonal reference(s)?
✓ Did I include a poem/poems with reference to Night (so that it can contrast with Sunset)?
✓ Overall, does it portray an equally distributed detail on the modern and traditional aspects of Tokyo?
I put the poems into my anthology after making sure that the answers to these questions were ‘yes’.

3. Assessment of Goal: Survey
As the final step of my project, I surveyed four foreigners out of my country to see whether they were able to
obtain knowledge by reading my poems. All of them said that they obtained more than a “Somewhat clear
understanding” of Tokyo. This inferred that my goal which was to see whether poetry can deepen people’s
knowledge was achieved. The average understanding out of 10 was 8.25 meaning that my anthology was
successful. Hence, this component is significant since it related the process and product to the goal.

Analysis of Process and Product
Inspiration
a) Inspiration of the Product‐ Poetry:
What inspired me to write poems for my Personal Project was the unit of learning about Shakespeare and
reading his works. Out of all his writings, the Sonnet 18 was the most memorable one for me, and since then,
I have obtained interest towards poetry and other styles of English literature. Again, recently, writing a poem
based on the structure and style of The Kraken written by Alfred Lord Tennyson, made me even more
interested about poetry. All these experiences I have had in English class encouraged me to choose a
Personal Project that involved poetry.
Since I often travel to different countries of the world, I am usually asked what Japan is like, and I encounter
having trouble communicating about the country I come from, which I have found quite frustrating. Using
this opportunity, I thought that it would be great to become capable of explaining my country through a
style I have been interested in. Hence, my inspirations for my Personal Project include English classes about
poetry and questions about Tokyo asked by foreigners which I was unable to answer.

b) Inspiration of My Topic and Process – Tokyo:

7



The general inspiration for why I have decided to write poems specifically about Tokyo and not something
else is because I wanted to inform people about something I only knew or could do. If I chose something
that a large population was aware about, then perhaps my Personal Project would not have as much
significance to the society as to if I did one that has never been done before, igniting new perspectives in
people.
The inspiration which were gained throughout the process, as I have mentioned before in my Research, were
photographs acquired from Flickr. They all gave me great inspirations to the features of Tokyo which I
discussed in my poems. During the process, it triggered many ideas and enabled me to brainstorm some
topics I could discuss about. (See Diagram 1) The features which were inspired by these photographs
informed the foreigners outside of Japan characteristics which they did not know of, making my anthology
an educational product and causing a significant impact on their perspective.
For example, the photo 1 showed in the Components section, inspired me to write the line in the Children in
Tokyo: “They are the salesmen, who live in crinkled suits. They pour sake and flattery into the guests, Trying
to avoid conversational mutes.” One of the foreigners said that “Reading this line, it gave me an
understanding that there are many salesmen who wear suits and drink Sake in Tokyo. I can say that there is a
hierarchical system for occupations like salesmen in Tokyo. I loved the part where it said ‘They pour sake and
flattery into the guests’. Very clever.” This evidence suggests that the inspiration from the photographs of
foreign photographers were one of the reasons why my anthology was successful at giving people
knowledge.

Research
Researching contributed significantly to my product. Without it, my anthology would not have finalized
the state at which it did. One of the reasons why the research shaped my collection is because I could not
find many poems written by other poets about Tokyo. Throughout the process, I attempted to find poems
about Tokyo in English so that I can include into my collection. However, since I could only find Matsuo
Basho’s and Kenji Miyazawa’s English translated haikus, I decided to use the poems which were about
cities from other countries and learn writing techniques from them. For example, I found a poem called
the Cities by Hilda Doolittle, an American Poet. The lines which contributed to my poems, especially Shall
I Compare Thee to a Human Being? were:
“with the beauty of the temple
and space before temple,
arch upon perfect arch,
of pillars and corridors that led out
to strange court‐yards and porches”
Analyzing this poem, I reckoned that she relates the city with beauty which enables the reader to feel
closer to the existence of city. I decided to use this technique since Tokyo is a beautiful city with many
diverse qualities. The usage of this technique can be seen in Shall I Compare Thee to a Human Being?:

8



When deciding which forms to use for my poems, from research, I found out that some of the forms
which were commonly used in English literature were identical. For example, I did not know that
heroic couplets which was a couplet consisting of two rhymed lines were used in Sonnets. From this
finding, I decided not to use heroic couplets in my anthology and instead use Sonnets. Another
example is the ballad and ode. They are both similar since they do not have a strict structure and is
written as a song. I decided not to use the ode since the ballad seemed much appropriate for my
topic.

ii. Topics:
In my poems I discussed other topics unmentioned in Chart 1.0, such as in Children in Tokyo the
social changes of Japan like the declining birth rate. Even though this is a problem involving the
whole country, it depicts what sort of city Tokyo is like since I see many elder people in Tokyo. By
discussing these social features, I wanted the readers to understand Tokyo more than just its
appearance.

iii. Techniques:
I decided to use metaphors since I thought it was a great technique to use to convey features of
Tokyo. By using them, it provides the maximum meaning with the minimum of words which is great
since I can explain a lot even if I have a syllable limit. I used metaphors in all of the poems and this
is how it is used in my haiku: “Trees get tanned with a soft glow”
Also, I decided to use personification because it was a useful technique to portray the close bond
between Tokyo and I. As I have explained before, finding the song Under the Bridge inspired me to
decide to use personification since the relationship with the city is as if it is with a person‐ strong,
supportive and loyal. I attempted to portray that quality repetitively in the poems. I used
personification intensively in my Sonnet.
Another decision I made was the usage of metonymy. It has the same connotation as metaphors
since the effect they can have on the reader is similar. It describes a movement/thing by replacing it
to something that it closely associated with it. I also used this technique: “The sun‐kissed mornings
thou have painted”

iv. Other Poets’ Poems:
As I have explained earlier, I could not find many poems which were written by other poets about
Tokyo. Instead, I found poems by poets written in earlier times, generally about the traditional
aspect of Tokyo. In evening out the distribution of the aspects of Tokyo, I changed some parts of my
poems to focus on the modernized qualities.

Overall analyzing the process and product through multiple aspects, I am satisfied with the anthology and

10



the steps I took in creating it. Every stage played a significant role and without one component, my project
would not have been possible.

The Product, Process and Goal
In achieving my goal which is to know whether poetry can deepen one’s understanding on a particular topic,
I sent the anthology along with its Survey 2.0 to four foreigners who have never visited Japan. From
analyzing their responses, it can be concluded that my anthology definitely deepened their understanding
of Tokyo since the average level of the understanding obtained by them out of 10 was 8.25. Since my
description of the scale 10 is “perfectly clear understanding” and 5 is “somewhat clear understanding”, I
believe it provided them with great knowledge of Tokyo. Hence, my goal is achieved since I can answer to my
query which was whether poetry will be able to deepen people’s understanding about a certain topic. The
answer which I have learnt from this project is that poetry can in fact enrich ones knowledge on a particular
topic.

Focus on Homo Faber and Environment
Throughout my project, I have been quite consistent with the two chosen Areas of Interaction‐ Homo Faber
and Environment. I have accomplished in creating the poetry collection of the specified environment which
is Tokyo whilst learning about forms from various time periods and at the end, causing an impact on the
readers’ perspective, clarifying any stereotypical impressions on Tokyo. Overall, throughout this project, my
process as well as my product interacted with the two areas intensively according to how I stated it will in
the beginning of project.

Conclusion
Reflection of Impact of My Project
The impact of my project is quite remarkable since my anthology was able to change 82.5% of the minds of
the readers. The four foreigners were surprised to know of these features and noticed that they have been
misunderstanding Tokyo until they read my collection so its impact is extraordinary. Plus, this is just the
impact of showing it to four people. If I sent it to a large population globally, it would cause an exceptional
effect, causing a tremendous change in the worldwide impression of Tokyo.

New Perspectives to Consider
Some of the new perspectives I should consider are conveying my impression and interpretation of Tokyo
through other ways related to literature, for example creative writing. Novels will allow the writer to have
more freedom than when writing poems since there is no particular form to follow or any fixed structure.
Hence, creative writing will most likely be easier to communicate features of Tokyo. Or another genre could
perhaps be a diary of life in Tokyo. Writing one like the famous Diary of Anne Frank can certainly allow the

11



reader to see through the writer’s perspective, making it easier to portray the characteristics of Tokyo. Each
genre will create a different product, impact and result which is why challenging myself with these forms of
literature is definitely a new perspective to consider.
Word Count: 3918

Bibliography
All of the URLs used in the previous sections of this write up will be specified with further details below:
 Flickr:
1. (2006, April 16th). Tokyo Train Map. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Flickr Web site:
http://flickr.com/photos/moaksey/131599619/sizes/o/
2. (2006, July 10th). Img 2130 Tokyo . Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Flickr Web site:
http://flickr.com/photos/62591211@N00/186506841/sizes/l/
3. (2006, October 18th). Zojo-ji Temple and Tokyo Tower. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Flickr Web site:
http://flickr.com/photos/kalavinka/273474410/sizes/o/
4. (2007, February 8th). Snow of Tokyo. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Flickr Web site:
http://flickr.com/photos/modern_classic/2239009292/
5. (2007, October 31st). Old & New (Tokyo fragments). Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Flickr Web site:
http://flickr.com/photos/28481088@N00/1808267994/
6. Carvarlho, A. D. Rebel Without A Cause. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Flickr Web site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adc/215405524/sizes/o/
7. Houghman, G. W. (2005, June 22nd). School Children. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Flickr Web site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anomic/153697074/
8. Said, Will (2007, February 5th). Tokyo Sunset. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Flickr Web site:
http://flickr.com/photos/thoth037/2250213168/sizes/m/
9. Sng, J. (2007, October 5th). Drinking, Tokyo, 2007 Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Flickr Web site:
http://flickr.com/photos/offspring/1489211477/

 (2004, August 24th). Cities H.D.. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Poetry X Web site:
http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/4672/
 (2008). Poets.org from the Academy of American Poets. Retrieved February 11, 2008, Web site:
http://www.poets.org/
 (2008). Writing-World.Com Poetry. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Poetry & Greeting Cards Web site:
http://www.writing-world.com/poetry/
 Lear, E. Limericks. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Poetry-online.org Web site:
http://www.poetry-online.org/limericks.htm
 Matterson, S., & Jones, D. (2000). Studying Poetry .A Hodder Arnold Publication.

12



 Poetry Analysis. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Poetrymagic.co.uk Web site:
http://www.poetrymagic.co.uk/critiquing.html
 Red Hot Chili Peppers' Under the Bridge. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Lyrics007 Web site:
http://www.lyrics007.com/Red%20Hot%20Chili%20Peppers%20Lyrics/Under%20the%20Bridge%20Lyrics.html
 Simpson, E. Forms. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Connections: A Hypertext Resource for Literature Web site:
http://www.math.grin.edu/~simpsone/Connections/Poetry/Forms/index.html
 Sonnets. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from Patterns in Poetry Web site:
http://www.cranberrydesigns.com/poetry/sonnet/history.htm
 Miyazawa K. Translated by Pulvers R.(2007) Strong in the Rain Selected Poems Bloodaxe Books Ltd

13



Foreigner 1:

The Survey for Poems
Hello, I’m Yuri Higashino. I am a student from K. International School Tokyo, doing a project to find out whether poetry
can deepen people’s knowledge about a certain place. It would really help my project if you answer the following
questions with as much detail as possible, after reading the poetry collection I have attached to this mail. To answer the
questions just type in below the questions, and send me this document back. Thank you. 

 Which poem portrayed the clearest image of Tokyo? And especially, which line/phrase? How?
I thought the poem called Shall I Compare Thee to a Human Being portrayed the clearest image of Tokyo because it told
me many things that I would encounter daily if I was there such as how frequently I would see old and new things there
and get stuck in morning traffics. It gave me a general picture of what Tokyo is like.
I liked the line “The sun-kissed morning thou have painted, Gives me the strength to face morning traffics” because I got
the impression that you can still interact with nature (sun) even if you are in Tokyo. This definitely changed my
perspective.

 Which poem was your favorite? Why? (Specific phrases, lines, or words; the topic; etc.)
My favorite poem was New Year’s First Snow because I could really imagine the scene just by reading it.

 Out of 0-10, how much understanding did you receive from reading the poems? (Compare to your understanding
before you read the poems.)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
None Somewhat Clear Perfectly Clear

 Lastly, what do you think I could have added to improve my poetry collection?
I think if there were more poems, then the poetry collection would have been more helpful. Also, I think if there were
more poets then I could have seen more different views on Tokyo.

Thank you for your cooperation. 

18



Foreigner 2:



I think Children in Tokyo portrayed the clearest image. Probably because it explained what the people are like including
men, women and children whilst describing the other features of Tokyo like crowds and streets.
The line: They are the salesmen, who live in crinkled suits. They pour sake and flattery into the guests, Trying to avoid
conversational mutes.
Reading this line, it gave me an understanding that there are many salesmen who wear suits and drink Sake in Tokyo. I
can say that there is a hierarchical system for occupations like salesmen in Tokyo. I loved the part where it said ‘They
pour sake and flattery into the guests’. Very clever.
My favorite poem was Night Light, by Yuri. “The star-like lights fixed up above, Gleaming on and off”- I could imagine
it. I understood that it is similar to New York City.

Out of 0-10, how much understanding did you receive from reading the poems? (Compare to your understanding before
you read the poems.)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I think it was great the way you did it!


19



Foreigner 3:


I think On the Train portrayed the clearest image of Tokyo since it described thoroughly all the interests of one person
that represented the characteristics of the general population of Tokyo. It also talked about the scenery that explained the
environment of Tokyo. “The wind is denser than the water, water and ice reflect each other around February at Rice
Marsh Field” told me that it snows or gets very cold in Tokyo and produces Rice.
My favorite poem The Metro since the structure of the poem or the way it was written suited the content very well. The
structure is very bold and sparsely laid out. I can understand the complexity and the simplicity of the metro.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

If you included some pictures along with the poems, perhaps the readers could have gained more knowledge about
Tokyo.


20



Foreigner 4:


The “Shall I compare thee to a Human Being?” portrayed the clearest image, I think. It covered everything anyone can
ask about Tokyo. The first two paragraphs of the poem explained the unanswered questions for me- like, are there
temples or buildings in Tokyo?
My favorite poem was Confusion because it was very clear. Yet, poetically interesting.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

If you included more poems then I think I would have learnt more about Tokyo.


21



Source: Gavin W. Hougham, “School children. Tokyo. June 2005”


Human+ingenuity 07 report

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Plus de Ross

Plus de Ross (20)

Human+ingenuity 07 report